


Shine A Light

by SucroseElytra



Series: Blood Runs Pink [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Amputation, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Captivity, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kidnapping, Loss of Limbs, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Torture, Whump, okay maybe Some Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-02-23 13:16:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23712124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SucroseElytra/pseuds/SucroseElytra
Summary: A certain boy gets a little too close to figuring out Dollface's secret. So, she gets Micah some company
Series: Blood Runs Pink [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1669495
Kudos: 11





	1. Taken

There was this girl in one of Ethan’s criminology classes. It was kind of a weird class, honestly. It seems pretty high-stakes for a group of people in their early 20s. A class dedicated to solving real-world crimes. And with the serial killer around campus… it was pretty clear what they’d focus on. This girl always gave Ethan a strange vibe. No one is perfect, but she seemed to be. She was brilliant, passing the class with flying colors. Pretty too. Round, green, eyes and straight blonde hair going down past her hips. 

Ethan started sitting next to her every opportunity he had. It really did seem like she knew who the killer was. But that’s ridiculous. If she knew who it was, they wouldn’t still be out there. Ethan eventually asked her name. The response was unsettling. 

“I don’t like my name. Most of my friends call me Dollface.” It was such a strange answer. It’s a weird nickname for sure. Why wouldn’t she like her name? Ethan understood to a point, but going by something completely different? It rubbed him the wrong way. 

Recently, she’s been acting differently. More on-guard. Warier. Specifically around Ethan. The more he pieced the clues together, she got more nervous. After the professor dismissed the class, Dollface stopped Ethan as he was leaving. 

“I wanna talk about the case with you. Meet me at my place. For tea, maybe?” She said in a slightly flirtatious way. Ethan was unsure… but she was just so beautiful. And from what he’d seen of her, she was nice enough. Who knows, maybe there could be something there. 

“Uh, okay. Where do you live?” Ethan responded. Dollface seemed to smile slightly. Not a happy smile, but a  _ relieved  _ one. 

“It’s off-campus. I can text you directions- if you give me your number.” She held out her hand as if asking for his phone. He handed it over, and she entered her number. “See you, there, then.” She handed his phone back and walked off. 

Ethan was kinda stuck. Was this a date? Should he dress up? Or should he just follow the directions she texted him and move on? It’s not a big deal. It’s for class. He’s close to the answer, and she’s got a fantastic detective mind. They could solve this if they had just a little alone time together. 

These were some complex directions. Off-campus and into the nearby woods. Far off the trail, too. Deep into some very heavily wooded area, something straight out of a horror movie. But all the landmarks she told him to look for were there. He could find his way. Every once in awhile, he got this strange gut feeling telling him that this was a bad idea. But it was probably just him freaking himself out. Maybe the case got to his head. He  _ has  _ been acting pretty paranoid recently. The gloomy, cloudy day and the dense forest didn’t help. 

The house was nice, though. Too nice for a college student to afford. Maybe she has a bunch of roommates. Maybe she’s got rich parents. There were so many other possibilities than what Ethan was jumping to. He knocked on the door, and Dollface answered seconds later. 

“Nice to see you! Come inside, we have a lot to talk about!” She seemed to be in a good mood. The inside of the house was really,  _ really _ nice. Ethan had to ask, it was too perfect. 

“How do you afford this place?” He tried not to let his suspicions shine through. 

“Oh! I don’t pay for it on my own.” So she has roommates. Perfectly normal. Dollface placed two cups of hot tea on the table and gestured for Ethan to sit down. She took a small sip of hers before looking up at Ethan. 

“You’re a great detective. You really are.” She said as he took a sip. The tea was slightly bitter, but what could he expect? “I mean, you managed to figure out that the killer is young. A student. You figured out that she was a girl. You saw that there's really no definitive deaths, just students going missing. No one else was able to do that until you brought it up.” Ethan got that feeling again. 

“What’s with the praise? And how are you so confident that I’m right?” Ethan asked. He didn’t trust this. Dollface looked down at how much he had drunk, and subtly smiled. 

“You could figure it out.” Her tea was a lighter color than his. It smelled sweet. Then he put it all together. Bitter taste. Change in color. The two warning signs of flunitrazepam. Rohypnol. 

“You- you didn’t.” Ethan couldn’t believe he let himself get tricked. This wasn’t happening, this was impossible. The room was spinning, it felt like all the blood was draining from his head, everything was getting darker- 

And just like that, Ethan blacked out. 


	2. Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Micah and Ethan formally meet, and Dollface gets to try out a new toy.

Micah has been here long enough to know how Dollface worked. To know how to avoid pain and how to earn rewards. Not saying she was getting predictable- he had no clue what terror she had in store for him. But this? This was entirely unexpected. 

Micah never considered how horrific it might be to see her throw a drugged up boy haphazardly into his cell. He looked not much older than Micah himself. Pale and a mess of ginger curls. Plus ten-thousand freckles littering his face and arms. He was shorter than Micah, not by much though. Dollface made an off-hand comment about how Micah would be getting a break very soon before collaring the boy walking off.

He was so conflicted. Micah would normally jump at any chance to avoid pain, but… this time… he knew this boy would suffer in his place. And he couldn’t tell which was worse. Would he be able to live with himself if he let someone else live through his Hell? If he did nothing to stop it? It had been so long since he’d seen another person other than his captor, it didn’t feel real. 

It was unclear how much time had passed before the boy came to. He immediately started panicking, trying to find his groundings. Micah eventually caught his eye, and the boy shot him an accusatory glare. But once he saw the state of Micah, how injured and bandaged up he was, he could figure out the Micah was in the same situation as him. 

“My… my name… is Micah.” He introduced himself before gesturing for the boy to do the same.

“...Ethan McKinley.” He tried to conceal a voice crack. Micah could tell that he was trying to act brave and wondered how long it would be before he broke. Ethan looked Micah up and down, eyes eventually settling on his collar. He moved his hands up to his neck, startled by the discovery that he was wearing one too. Micah was so scarred up. Hands missing fingers wrapped in bloody bandages. A patch covering up his left eye. When he spoke, Ethan could see the gaps in Micah’s teeth. 

Micah flinched hard when he heard footsteps approaching which brought Ethan’s attention to the sound of the noise. Dollface. Still drugged up and half-delirious, Ethan let himself be dragged by the leash. He tried to fight, but he was just so fatigued and weak. He couldn’t stand feeling so helpless. Dollface tied him to the wooden chair by his wrists and ankles. She seemed to be getting bored with his loopy state when she injected him with adrenaline. He shot awake and immediately thrashed in his restraints and started yelling.

“I can’t believe this!” He screamed as Dollface prepped her tools out of his line of sight, “I thought I could trust you, I defended you, we-” He was quickly cut off my Dollface laughing. 

“Aww, what’s the matter? Feeling betrayed?” She taunted, “I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner. I mean, I was  _ right there  _ when the clues were the most apparent.” He still couldn’t see her. Wouldn’t stop him from arguing. 

“You’re gonna get caught. People are gonna know that you were the last person I was seen with.” Ethan wasn’t sure if he was trying to talk some sense into her or just call her out on what he thought was a half-baked plan.

“How long do you think I’ve been doing this for? I have your phone, Ethan. It’ll be  _ so _ easy to make it seem like we’ve been friends for ages.” He could hear her smirk. 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

“Why not? What are you gonna do? Use it against me? Besides, you seem a little too confident that you’re getting out of this alive.” Then it was silent. She was right. Ethan couldn’t rely on the law to save him. He didn’t say anything for about a minute. Then his captor walked in front of him holding a metal stick with a glowing red tip. 

“I’ve been waiting to use this. Finally got it made. Would’ve used it on Micah, but I already branded him by hand.” She said way too casually for comfort. 

“Branded? No way! Keep that thing away from me, you maniac!” He protested fruitlessly. Dollface opted to ignore him, circling around the back of him. 

“Relax, this’ll hurt way less than what I did before. Or it won’t- I don’t know, never used one before.” She said before pressing the iron into Ethan’s shoulder blade and holding it there. He screamed and tried to pull away, but couldn’t move away from the burning touch. She held it there for thirty excruciating seconds before taking a step back. His flesh had been burnt raw into the shape of an upside-down heart with a cross in the center. 


	3. Scalding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hairspray is highly flammable.

“Hey Ethan, wanna see something cool?” Dollface was excited. That was never good. As far as Ethan knew, she was only happy when she was hurting either him or Micah. Ethan wouldn’t show it, but he was terrified. It doesn’t matter how defiant or stoic he might  _ act,  _ it still fucking hurts. 

His tormenter seemed to be shaking up a can of hairspray. It was almost full, as if she had got it solely to use in some tortuous way. She then took a tiny lighter. It wasn’t cheap looking. Ethan couldn’t help but wonder how much money she was making. And even scarier-  _ how was she making it?  _ The gentle flame from the lighter flickered and Ethan could take his eyes off her as she pressed down on the nozzle, blossoming the flame into a violent explosion. 

Ethan withed in his binds, trying to get away from her. He tried to shout despite the gag preventing him from speaking. Dollface giggled at his attempts, though- his muffled and panicked words that didn’t quite make it out. There was nothing more he could do than just brace himself for the searing pain. Lo and behold, it came a moment later. 

Between the gag and his screams, Ethan couldn’t say anything even resembling a word. The fire charred his skin and Ethan never considered that he'd have to smell his own burnt flesh-- yet here he is. 

The flame subsided but the pain didn’t. It hurt so damn much. Dollface picked up Ethan’s chin, forcing him to look at her. She wanted to see the tear tracks streaming down his face. The hurt and fear in his eyes. It was a beautiful sight to her. He questioned how someone as beautiful as she was could do this kind of thing to other people. It was a waste, really. She might actually be perfect if she had some level of human empathy. Her eyes were so gentle. A shade of green that had to have been incredibly rare. But behind that mask, he saw her sadistic satisfaction. 

How could something this agonizing and awful come from something so dainty and small? Then he remembered the lighter. The only reason it did damage was because of the flammable fuel. 

Now that begs the question: what’s Dollface’s fuel? 


	4. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan and Micah share a moment alone.

Micah and Ethan didn’t have a lot of room. The cell was barely large enough for one person. And now, they’re forced to share it. It’s not like they could avoid each other, so the best thing they could do was try to make friends. Ethan had been avoiding it for a while. He couldn’t help but feel guilty for Micah’s captivity. So, it was one of the first things he said to his cellmate.

“I’m sorry you’re stuck here, Micah,” Ethan mumbled. Micah looked up at him. He had gotten pretty good at staring at one spot on the wall and imagining he was somewhere else. So, the sudden interaction caught him pretty off-guard and it took him a moment to comprehend what Ethan had just said. 

“It’s not your fault.” He finally responded. 

“Not directly, no.” Ethan started, “but- you’re such a good person. You don’t deserve this!” 

“...No one deserves this.” Micah’s voice was soft. As if he was afraid to speak up. 

“I can think of one person…” Ethan grimaced, and for the first time, he heard Micah  _ laugh.  _ Just a gentle chuckle. He could tell there was pain behind it. But, for that one second, Micah smiled. And that did something to Ethan. 

“Can I be honest with you, Ethan?” Micah said slightly louder. 

“Of course.” He replied without missing a beat. 

“Before you came, I didn’t know what part I hated more,” his eyes were still focused on the ground as he spoke, “Sure when I was with  _ her _ I was in so much pain. She’s so merciless. All I could do was cry and scream and beg.” Tears were starting to form in Micah’s eyes. He tried to blink them away but ended up sending them down his cheeks. 

“But at least someone was there,” He continued, “Even though she was hurting me, I was so lonely that I took it. I was so desperate to hear another person’s voice that even her mocking me was a  _ sweet  _ sound.” Ethan didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know if he should say anything. But, he didn’t need to, Micah kept on explaining. 

“But then when she’s done with me, she just throws me here. Alone.” The quiver in his voice made Ethan’s heart shatter. He hardly even knew this boy, but he couldn’t help feeling so  _ bad.  _ “I can’t stand being alone, Ethan. It’s so quiet. And so  _ cold.  _ I almost wished she’s come back, just so I wouldn’t be alone anymore.” 

Ethan didn’t say anything. He just rushed to Micah, embracing him tightly. Micah was startled at first but quickly leaned into the touch, letting himself fall into the hold. In the process, letting himself fall apart, completely bawling. It had been so long since he felt a gentle touch that wasn’t condescending. A real comforting touch. It was nice. He didn’t want to let go. 

“It’s okay…” Ethan himself was on the verge of tears, “I’m gonna get you out of here, I promise, it’s okay.” Ethan knew he was lying. So did Micah. Didn’t stop either from cuddling closer. Their body heat was warm. They ended up falling asleep like that. 

And it felt right. 


	5. Earrings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BTHB Prompt: Non-consensual body modification.

At one point, a long time ago, in a passing conversation, Ethan said how he never wanted to get a piercing. He saw little girls getting their ears pierced in the mall and cringed at the thought. He knew it was irrational, that there were more painful things, and that it probably didn’t even hurt that much, but it still freaked him out. 

But unfortunately for him, one of Dollface’s favorite things was exploiting people’s fears. 

Ethan was thrashing and struggling in his binds, as he always did. Staring daggers at his captor, trying to make himself seem brave and ready for whatever pain she had in store for him. But he couldn’t help the flash of fear behind his eyes when he saw the hollow needle and metal rings. He fought valiantly against her touch as she tried to tilt his head to the side. 

“Relax, it won’t even hurt.” She rolled her eyes as if he was being the irrational one in this situation. 

“It fucking will! You are not sticking anything in my body!” Ethan screamed back at her. At this point, her patience- which wasn’t extensive by anyone’s standards- had completely given out. So she resorted to a tried and true method: simply just, hitting him. 

Over and over. Again and again. 

She knew what parts of the face were the most sensitive. She knew how to leave a bruise and break the skin. Dollface knew how to throw a punch and make it  _ hurt _ . Within a few hits, Ethan coughed up blood but she just  _ wouldn’t stop.  _

By the time she backed away from him, Ethan was done fighting. His skin was torn up from her rings and it was already starting to bruise. She for sure would have broken his nose if it weren’t already busted. This time when she tilted his head to pierce his skin, he didn’t resist. Dollface didn’t know if it was from fear or pain but she didn’t really care. She hadn’t anticipated hurting him like this today, but he just won’t stop fighting. He deserved it. 

The needle was so big that Ethan could have sworn that she had just taken a knife to his ear. He knew that fighting would make it worse, so he bit his tongue and took it. The earring she put in was heavy. He could feel it tugging down on his recently ripped skin. 

“It’s just a small gauge. Barely big enough for the chain.” She said with annoyance in her voice. Ethan hadn’t realized he’d been whimpering and mumbling curses at her the whole time. Then he realized that she had said  _ chain _ . Before he could react, he felt a similar stinging sensation in the cartilage of the same ear. It was certainly smaller this time, but that didn’t change the fact that he was getting his ears pierced, something he never, ever wanted. He could hear her attach a heavy chain from his cartilage to his lobe. It was pulling down on his newly pierced skin and made him feel like his ear was on fire. 

That fire multiplied tenfold when she  _ tugged  _ on it as a way to get him to sit up straight. He followed her as she pulled, trying to get as much slack as possible. She tugged all the way until his other ear was exposed.  _ Of course,  _ she wouldn’t do just one. That would make things too easy on him. __

When she was done, his ears hurt, yes, but what really stung was his heart. He never wanted this. Ever since he learned that this was something a person could do, he swore not to. He didn’t have a reason, but he didn’t need one. It was his body and he could do with it as he pleased. Except now he couldn’t. Now, these things are here on his body and he can’t do anything about it. This wasn’t even something he could get used to, or learn to appreciate. It was a mark of ownership. She did that on purpose. Make his earrings chains, chains for her to tug on when he’s being difficult. Chains that even if he did rip them off the scars would be a prominent reminder of her. Every time he would look at himself in the mirror, he knew his eyes would dart directly at those scars they would leave. Right front and center, a reminder of-

_ -Who he belongs to.  _ Ethan dashed the thought. No. He doesn’t belong to her. He never will, it doesn’t matter what she does to him, he will ever admit that she wins.

But somewhere inside him, the pessimist in him told him he was fighting a losing battle. 

  
  
  
  



	6. Watch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good old fashioned forced to watch.

Ethan was so damn frustrating. No matter what Dollface did to him, no matter how bad she hurt him, he remained defiant, aggressive, and just would not obey even a single command. It even seemed like he was going out of his way to do the opposite. It would be impressive if it wasn’t so annoying. She just could not figure out his weakness- nothing worked. She had given him every reason to be afraid of her, and for some reason, he’s not. 

Biting his tongue, trying to avoid making noise, just because he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. Every once in a while, a whimper or whine slipped out. It’s fine. You’re doing this for Micah. The more she’s with you, the less she’s with him. 

“Oh?” Dollface asked with poison in her voice, and his face instantly flushed red. Shit. Had he been talking out loud? How much of that did she hear? No, no, no, this can’t be happening.

“What’s so special about him-” Her voice was plastic. It was so fake. It sounded so sweet and innocent. As if she was just asking a question with no stakes, “-that you want to keep him away from me?” She was waiting for an answer, but Ethan refused to give her one, partially because he didn’t know the answer. “Okay. That’s fine. I think I know how to get you to speak up.” 

Dollface walked away with the slightest smile. She was walking towards their cell. She wasn’t gone long before she led Micah back on his leash. She forced him to his knees, intentionally in Ethan’s line of sight. 

“Stay still for me, sweetheart.” One command and Micah froze, hoping in vain that if he was perfectly obedient, he would be spared a little bit of mercy. Dollface then found her weapon of choice: a whip. Hand-braided with a silver tip for extra damage. Ethan’s heart dropped when he realized what she was going to do.

“Wait-” Ethan gasped out too little too late as Dollface brought the whip down hard on Micah’s back. The room filled with a sickening crack, followed by a wail of pain. Over and over, the harsh metal bit into Micah’s back, easily tearing through the fabric and raising reddened welts on his skin. 

“Stop!” Ethan shouted, “He didn’t do anything wrong, stop it!” Micah’s cries were impossible to listen to. God, he sounded like he was in so much pain. In a way, this was his fault. If he could have just shut up, Micah wouldn’t have been dragged into this.   
“No! Pl-please!” Micah cried, “Hurts, plea-ase, I-- God, please make it stop--” Tears were rushing down both boy’s cheeks, Ethan couldn’t just do nothing, but what could he do? He was just as helpless as Micah. Tied down, injured, starved. In a moment of pure desperation, almost against his own will. Ethan began to shout.

“Please, stop!” He thankfully gained his captor’s attention this time, “Stop, please, stop hitting him! I-- hurt me! Hurt me instead! I swear, I’ll do whatever you say, please-” Ethan stopped when he realized how he cracked. She refused to let her break him, but he couldn’t help it right now. It’s just human nature, you can only be indomitable for so long. 

Micah looked up at Ethan with wet eyes. He couldn’t take it anymore. He just wanted to not be hurt for one day. He just wanted someone to take away the pain. Ethan knew he was doing the right thing. He could handle this. He had a fairly high pain tolerance. He could take this for him. He would take this for him. 

Micah admired him. He couldn’t help but wonder if Ethan would put his life on the line for anyone, or if there was something connecting them two. He certainly hadn’t done anything to warrant this. Not to say that he wasn’t grateful- Micah really couldn’t thank him enough. In his eyes, he owes his life to Ethan. 

“Are you sure you want to take his place, sweetheart?” Dollface smirked as she curled the bloodied whip around her hand. Ethan looked over and saw the fresh wounds littering Micah’s back. One slashed clear across the hand-made brand burnt into his skin. That must have hurt so bad and it must have taken so long. He knew that he would have to take it for him. It would hurt, yes, it would be excruciating, but he didn’t really care. Something about that boy made him feel like he could handle any torture, no big deal. 

“I’m sure.” He tried and failed to hide a voice crack. 

“Alright. Just remember-” She cracked the whip in the air, making both boys flinch, “-you asked for this.”


	7. Impatience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dollface is not a very patient person.

Ethan is completely infuriating. Dollface couldn’t understand why he’s not scared of her. She has given him every reason to be afraid. It’s not like he had a reason to stand up to her- other than spite. And one of these days she’d snap entirely. Who knows what she might do to him, probably accidentally kill the poor boy. 

“Y’know,” Dollface started, “Micah would have cracked by now. He would have begged and screamed and cried.” She taunted. 

“Don’t talk about Micah like that!” Ethan couldn’t stand it when she talked down about him. Some primal part of him encouraged him to act out whenever she mentions his name. “He’s a fucking human being! So am I! It’s sick that you treat us like toys!” Ethan thought he saw something in Dollface’s expression change, but he was probably just psyching himself out. 

“Why is that? You two are property.” Her voice had a low growl to it that Ethan had never heard before. It was unsettling, to be completely honest. 

“You don’t own me! I’m not yours, you took me and I will never accept you as an ‘owner’” Ethan tried and failed to hold back tears. It seemed like his constant defiance and back talking finally cracked her. She was by no means stable before, but now Ethan can tell he’s in serious danger. 

She moved quickly and aggressively. It started with a harsh blow to his nose. Enough to make it crack and bleed. But his nose wasn’t the only thing she was planning on breaking. She took Ethan’s left arm in his hands and forced it in the wrong direction. He wailed as the bone shattered, but she wasn’t done. This wasn’t over. She reached for the closest bladed weapon- which just so happened to be a hacksaw. 

Aggressively handling the sensitive break site, Dollface sawed clean through where the break was. The saw effortlessly cut through skin and flesh. Ethan tried to pull away, but it was fruitless. By the time his limb was completely discarded, Dollface seemed to have blown off enough steam to really look at what she’d done. 

Ethan was bleeding a lot. Like a lot. He looked close to passing out from it. Or maybe it was from the pain, she couldn’t tell. Either way, she had to fix this. First things first, tying a rag near the wound to slow bleeding. At least until she found- there it is!

Tranexamic acid. Filling up a syringe, Dollface injected it into Ethan’s bloodstream as fast as she could. What was next? Right, gauze and rubbing alcohol, to clean up all the blood. Fuck, there was so much blood. At this point, he seemed to regain some of his senses. He saw her still messing with the wound and tried to pull away from her, seeming to forget that he’s still tied up. 

“Relax, I’m trying to clean it.” She tugged him back into place. 

“Why’s it matter? Don’t you want it to hurt?” Ethan asked half-sarcastic and half-confused. 

“Yeah, but I don’t want you to bleed out and die. Because when you die it will be very intentional. Not some spur of the moment decision.” She answered. Ethan was going to say something snarky, but decided against it, given that this is the same girl who literally cut off his arm on a whim. “Now, this might hurt a little- actually it’ll hurt like hell.” She said before pressing the gauze into the fresh wound. The rubbing alcohol stung Ethan’s sensitive muscle and he let out a sharp wince. Dollface tried not to smile, but he just sounded so nice when he was in pain. 

Once the bleeding stopped, Dollface was finally able to bandage up the wound. It took a while, given just how much was exposed. But for some reason, the long silence was almost comfortable. Neither felt like they should say anything. 

She was done. So, she untied him, escorted him back to his cell, and left. They made eye-contact for a split second. It was strange. Ethan had seen a new side of Dollface. And, strangely enough, it wasn’t her impulsive side. He deep down knew she was like that. It was her panic. She was always either calm or careless when she was torturing them. He had never, ever, seen her worry like that. 

And he didn’t know how to feel about it.


End file.
